Wisconsin Soccer Central

Soccer fans, mark your calendars: The biggest international match in Wisconsin in nearly 25 years will be played this summer in Milwaukee.

English Premier League club Swansea City AFC will face legendary Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara, better known as Chivas, on July 16 at Miller Park, officials from both clubs and the Milwaukee Brewers announced Thursday. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m., three days after the World Cup final is played in Brazil.

The first soccer match at the Milwaukee Brewers' 14-year-old stadium likely will be the highest-profile game in the state since East Germany beat the U.S. national team 2-1 in a friendly on July 27, 1990, at the old Milwaukee County Stadium.

A crowd of 12,574 attended that match, played a few weeks after the 1990 World Cup wrapped up in Italy – it's the only time the men's national team has played in Wisconsin. Attendance expectations appear to be much greater for the game at Miller Park, which has a capacity of 42,200.

"We are fortunate to have a facility that is adaptable for much more than baseball, and with the World Cup being staged this summer, interest in soccer is peaking worldwide," Brewers Chief Operating Officer Rick Schlesinger said in a news release.

Ticket prices range from $25 to $70 and will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. next Thursday via brewers.com/soccer, in person at the Miller Park Box Office or by phone at 414-902-4000. Wisconsin Youth Soccer Association members will have access to a special pre-sale from 10 a.m. to midnight Wednesday. (See seating chart below)

Parking will cost $20 in advance and $25 on the day of the game, with lots open at 5 p.m. and stadium gates opening at 6:30 p.m.

The field at Miller Park will be positioned with one goal near the outfield wall in left field and the other in the vicinity of first base. Exact field dimensions weren't immediately available. However, a 2003 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about the potential of having soccer games played at the stadium noted that the "length likely would be less than the normal 110 to 120 yards."

The game is during the Major League Baseball All-Star break, and the Brewers don't have any home games between July 14 and 20.

Swansea City, the first Welsh club to play in the Premier League, wrapped up its third season in the top level of English soccer last Sunday. The Swans, who played in the UEFA Europa League during the 2013-14 season thanks to their 2013 Football League Cup victory, finished 12th in the 20-team league with an 11-18-9 record this season.

This will be the second time in three years that Swansea City has spent part of its preseason in the U.S., having faced Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes in friendlies in 2012. The team, under new full-time manager Garry Monk, will hold a training camp in Chicago from July 6 to 20 and also will face Minnesota United FC of the North American Soccer League on July 19 in Blaine, Minn.

Playing in Milwaukee makes sense for Swansea City, which has had a partnership with Cedarburg-based North Shore United since 2011. The Premier League club once again will send youth coaches to NSU's annual Swansea Summer Camps, which are July 14 to 18.

Chivas, meanwhile, is one of the most popular clubs in the world.

Founded in 1906, their roster includes only players who are eligible for the Mexican national team, they have won a record-tying 11 Mexican top-flight championships and they've never been relegated to the second division.

However, their most recent title came in 2006 and this season they finished 16th of 18 teams in the Torneo Apertura and were 15th in the Torneo Clausura – the Apertura (opening season) typically runs from July to November, while the Clausura (closing) is from January to May.

The Goats – Chivas means goats in Spanish – also will play German power Bayern Munich in a friendly July 31 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. The club's reserve team has played in the Milwaukee area before, having beaten the Milwaukee Rampage of the USL A-League 4-0 in a friendly back on July 31, 2001, in Franklin.

On Twitter: @SwansOfficial @Chivas